Collaboration platforms are giving healthcare providers new tools in their constant quest to provide quality care. Patients have greater expectations today, from receiving more prompt and attentive care to having their medical questions answered faster. A robust collaboration platform empowers clinicians and staff to meet those needs head-on.
Healthcare providers want simplicity and need reliability. Many benefits of collaboration platforms come from having an incredibly easy-to-use communication tool. For example, the Intel Unite® solution is so easy to use that it requires no training.
After downloading the app to their devices, doctors, PAs, nurses, and other staff simply launch the app, enter a PIN, click “Present,” and begin sharing information with patients and collaborating with peers. That simplicity saves providers time, which means more time for patient care.
Let’s look at three more ways collaboration platforms are driving better patient care:
#1. Better Communication
“Here are the results of your tests. Let’s discuss how we’d like to proceed.”
Imagine a patient sitting in an exam room. A nurse has asked about the patient’s health history and current status, and taken their vitals; now the patient is waiting for the physician. What are their expectations? If they’re like most patients, they expect a doctor to enter, look at the nurse’s notes, conduct an exam, make a diagnosis, write a prescription (if appropriate), and move on to the next patient.
But what if, instead, there’s a large display on the exam room wall? When the doctor enters, they quickly log onto a tablet, securely bring up the patient’s information and/or test results on the large display, and say, “Here are the results of your tests. Let’s discuss how we’d like to proceed.”
This isn’t a fictional situation—it’s happening in clinics and hospitals today. Anecdotal evidence indicates that patients value this clear communication, which ultimately can help boost patient satisfaction scores. Many patients appreciate getting explanations of what their physicians found on X-rays or CT scans or who can walk them through their test results.
When physicians are able to answer questions in the moment—and show patients imaging or test results on a screen—it can help physicians be more efficient and patients be more engaged, resulting in better communication and care.
#2. Better Collaboration
“Can I get your opinion on this MRI?”
Another progressive way collaboration platforms can improve patient care is by connecting clinicians and allowing them to share, see, and discuss results.
Picture the same examination room scenario described above. The clinician and patient are discussing test results that show indicators of a serious medical condition. While the clinician may have some experience with the medical condition, if they’re not a specialist, they’ll have to refer the patient to someone who is, adding inconvenience for the patient and postponing getting answers.
With a collaboration platform like the Intel Unite® solution, healthcare providers can immediately connect and consult with each other. A primary care doctor, for example, can connect with a specialist and discuss the patient’s test results via video conference on phones, tablets, laptops, or whatever device the primary care physician has connected to the network. They’ll both be able to view the test results onscreen while they’re talking, allowing the generalist to ask, “Can I get your opinion on this MRI?” and get an answer.
With the Intel Unite® solution, clinicians can collaborate easier and faster, so when they enter a patient’s room, they can be better prepared to discuss results, answer questions, and provide more effective care.
#3. Better Efficiency
“Is the room temperature all right?”
Collaboration platforms are also transforming healthcare by offering solutions that increase efficiency.
Clinicians often must perform the same repetitive tasks throughout the day to assure patient safety and health: washing hands, sterilizing tools, and donning and doffing PPE to enter patient rooms. Collaboration platforms allow doctors and staff to monitor and consult with patients in high-risk environments virtually.
The Intel Unite® solution, for instance, offers an app called Patient Sight that connects a camera in an isolation room, such as an ICU or CCU, through the platform to a nurses’ station. Instead of having to put on and take off PPE every time a patient needs care in a room, nurses can activate the camera through the Intel Unite® application and interact directly and more securely with the patient.
This saves healthcare providers five to 10 minutes every time they’d have to don and doff PPE. Over the course of a day, that can equate to hours of time saved (as well as significant costs saved on PPE) that can now go toward caring directly for patients.
Clinics and hospitals are just beginning to realize the potential of collaboration platforms. These tools are transforming the way that providers communicate with patients and peers today, and they offer even greater potential in the future as new capabilities are developed.
Better communication, better collaboration, and better efficiency all result in healthcare providers delivering better patient care.
To learn more about how the Intel Unite® solution can help your healthcare organization deliver better patient care, please visit intel.co.kr/unite.
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